At 10:30 on October 18th, the 81972 "Hede Express" sea-rail intermodal special train, loaded with 90 TEU of cross-border e-commerce goods, departed from Yiwu West Railway Station with a whistle and headed towards Ningbo Port, marking the successful launch of the Yiwu-Ningbo Port "Hede Express" sea-rail intermodal cross-border e-commerce special train.

This special train was jointly organized and launched by Hede Maritime, a subsidiary of Hebei Port Group, and the Yiwu Cross-Border Logistics Association. The train carries exported cross-border e-commerce goods such as daily necessities. Upon arrival at Ningbo Port, the carried goods will be transferred to Hede Maritime's "Ningbo Port-Los Angeles Port" cross-border e-commerce express line. The voyage by sea takes only 13 days (the fastest possible time for the entire journey is 15 days) to arrive at the WBCT terminal in Los Angeles, achieving a seamless connection between the sea-rail intermodal e-commerce special train and the shipping company's e-commerce express shipping line.

At the opening ceremony of the special train, Hede Maritime and the Yiwu Cross-Border Logistics Association signed a strategic cooperation agreement, initiating an innovative exploration of direct cooperation between the association and shipping companies to promote industry resource sharing. This collaboration will provide cross-border logistics enterprises with stable supply of containers and guaranteed cabin space, offer better route options, and effectively reduce logistics costs.

In recent years, Yiwu has witnessed the thriving development of new forms of digital trade, with cross-border e-commerce as a representative. There are over 260,000 cross-border e-commerce entities in Yiwu. From January to September this year, the cross-border e-commerce transaction volume reached 106.52 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 16.52%, indicating a rapid growth in the demand for cross-border e-commerce enterprises to expand overseas. Yiwu boasts over 1,000 cross-border logistics enterprises, among which several leading enterprises rank top in the national industry, and a number of enterprises have become logistics service providers and designated carriers for e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba International.

Hede Maritime is a shipping enterprise under Hebei Port Group and the first Chinese company to open a point-to-point direct express line to the West Coast of the United States. The launch of the "Hede Express" cross-border e-commerce special train from Yiwu to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port will provide more convenient, efficient, and diverse cross-border logistics channels for the import and export goods of Yiwu's cross-border e-commerce through cooperation among railways, ports, shipping companies, and other parties, contributing to the high-quality development of the regional economy.